The present invention relates generally to a bone densitometer for measuring bone density for the purpose of diagnosis of osteoporosis using x-ray, and, in particular, to an integrated bone densitometer having a stand for supporting the part of a body to be measured which is so designed that the position of the stand can be adjusted.
Generally, density of a human bone decreases with increase of the age as it can be observed from a cross-sectional view of a bone showing devastation by pore formations in the tissue of the bone, resulting in decrease of the bone strength. When the density of a bone decreases, the bone can easily be injured by small impact and, in extreme cases, even a patient""s life can be menaced. A bone densitometer is an apparatus for measuring the density of a bone for the purpose of preventing or stopping this decrease process in bone density.
For obtaining an accurate result, it is preferable that the bones of the heel or of the wrist of a patient are measured, and measurement of the same bone should be repeated for monitoring the process of osteoporosis.
As shown in FIG 1a, a conventional bone densitometer is equipped with a foot stand 1 for accurate measurement of heel bones, comprising a sole guide and a calf guide capable of pivoting to form a right angle during the measurement. A patient 2 puts his sole and heel on the sole guide and the calf guide, respectively, while the sole guide and the calf guide remain rectangular to each other during the measurement.
Referring to FIG. 1b, in order to measure the density of wrist bones, the foot stand 1 should be removed from the bone densitometer. If, on the other hand, a measurement of heel bones is necessary after measurement of wrist bones, the foot stand 1 should be reinstasted and the position and direction of the bone densitometer need to be rearranged, which process is unhandy and inconvenient.
The present invention, conceived in view of the above demand, alms to provide a bone densitometer with a stand which is capable of measuring bone density of both the wirst bones and the heel bones by simply adjusting the settle position according to the body parts to be measured
The present invention further aims to provide a stand for bone densitometer which allows easy change of the settle position for different body parts in order to yield enhanced convenience in measurements.